A Native's Guide to Visiting Nashville

     My aunt and her book club are planning a visit to Nashville this fall to coincide with the Southern Book Festival. Turns out that in addition to being book-a-holics, these lovely ladies have also become addicted to the television series, Nashville, that showcases much about our lovely city. Thus, when my aunt called me to tell me about their impending visit, she told me that number one destination on their list was the vaunted Bluebird Cafe. The ladies learned all about the Bluebird from the TV series. I hate to tell them that Scarlett really doesn't work there, but surely they are smart enough to tell fact from fiction (even though you can never be sure which is which in the music business...) Deep down I chuckled at their request. Ever since the series debuted, the lines around the Bluebird have grown longer and longer. Part of me is proud that this little gem tucked far and away from the touristy honky-tonks down on lower Broad is garnering an extended national reputation, but the other part of me is downright sad. I don't want the Bluebird to get any harder to get into than it already is, but I guess that's the price of burgeoning fame.

   I thought I might pass along some of my recommendations for any other folks out there who might be thinking about visiting Music City in the near future.

Part One:  Accommodations in Downtown Nashville
    There are lots of options in the downtown area for folks who want to make this their base of operation. These are a few of my recommendations.
1. The most luxurious history-laden hotel in the city is The Hermitage Hotel (not to be confused with The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson.) This is a gem of a hotel that sparkles with its restored beauty, but be forewarned that this accommodation will definitely set you back some serious bucks. There is also a fabulous restaurant at the hotel and an amazing bar, but I will get to those when I get around to talking about food.

And while you are at The Hermitage, you absolutely must check out the world famous art deco men's public bathroom. Don't worry, someone will stand guard so that you ladies can view it without any bonus sightings. It's actually not uncommon to see brides and grooms taking their pictures in there. Here's a glimpse of the glory!

2. The Indigo - the hipsters like this place, but I think my aunt would, as well. The Indigo is only a couple of blocks from Broadway and has a great contemporary vibe with live music and a hopping bar scene. The hotel is also housed in a former bank building that has found new life. That kind of repurposing makes me happy.

3. The Hilton - for a chain hotel, this is one of the nicer ones. The lobby is large and filled with nooks and crannies for reading and relaxing, and the location could not be more spot on. Situated directly across from the Country Music Hall of Fame, adjoined on one side by the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and on the other by the Bridgestone Arena, the honkytonks, bars, and sounds and sights of the city are just a hop, skip and a jump away.


4. The Hampton Inn (not the one up on West End, but the one adjacent to the new convention center.I actually have not been in this hotel, but one thing about the Hampton chain is that they are totally predictable. You will get exactly what you pay for. No more, no less.
5. Midtown Courtyard Marriott - (not the one on West End, but the one in the century old high rise on 4th Avenue North. This hotel is located in yet another former bank building that is finding new life as a hotel. The soaring lobby has recently been remodeled. Centrally located, this hotel is just steps away from all the fun!

Another option is to do VRBO and rent out an apartment in one of the downtown high-rise apartment buildings: you don't get your towels and sheets changed out every day, but you can do your part to stay green if you stay there.

There are some obvious omissions here, but these are my faves for downtown.

Oh and watch this happy, snappy video of Nashville before you come. It will get you in the right frame of mind to visit our beloved Music City!


Stay tuned, Part Two to follow soon!

Italian Adventure Part Three

     The Husband loved Florence. I knew he would. It is much more manageable than Rome and is a perfect size for once intrepid travelers. We slept like babies in the Bernini Palace Hotel on our linen sheets. I've never slept on linen sheets before. Now I can say that I have. They supposedly help regulate body temperature and breathe with you. Whatever. It worked. As soon as my head hit the pillow each night I was out like a log. And if the snoring next to me was any indication, The Husband experienced the same.
     The weather was also perfect. Cool mornings and evenings and highs in the lower seventies. And that glorious Italian sunshine.

The famed Duomo. It's just as magnificent as you think it would be. It's two domes really. Brunelleschi executed this amazing architectural masterpiece by building a dome inside a dome. There's a stairway inside. It's redolent of a metaphorical stairway to heaven. The Husband climbed all 886 of the steps. He said he sweated like a pig and got a little claustrophic. Thankfully, I kept my own feet on the ground and visited Michaelangelo's Duomo Pieta while he was toiling away. We were both happy campers.
   It's a long way up there.

This is the view from the top!

This is not a picture of the Florence Duomo's Pieta, but these iron rings are everywhere in Florence. They are definitely not a one of a kind.

However, this is:

I have now been blessed to have seen two of Michaelangelo's Pietas...

one in Rome and one in Florence. Each is magnificent in its own way.  

While the Pieta in St. Peter's is more finely finished and was likely executed when 

Michaelangelo was at the height of his powers, this one has a roughness that lends 

it a particular pathos. Carved later in Michaelangelo's life, the Florentine sculpture reflects his understanding that he was nearing the end of his own life. It is said, as well, that the hooded figure on Nicodemus is cast in the likeness of Michaelangelo's himself. I stared at the face forever trying to get some sense of the man, but it was the face of the Christ that kept calling to me.

We just couldn't get enough of the Duomo 

This was the breakfast room in our hotel

And this is the lobby

Are you surprised that I'm ready to go back?!

And this is the lobby

Italian Adventure Part Two

   Venice. The city that defies description. Home to Marco Polo, Vivaldi and Bellini. Immortalized in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and Othello. The floating city. The Bridge of Sighs. Glassblowers and lace makers extraordinaire. Ancient gondolas glide alongside modern vaporetti. The masks and costumes of the Carnival vie for tourist Euros with the vaunted purveyors of high fashion. The worlds collide, overlap, and flow together. They move in tandem with the water. Life in Venice is eternally bounded and defined by the blue green seas that ceaselessly lap against the buildings.
   Make no mistake, this is a city of extremes. It polarizes visitors. One is either entirely captivated by the romance and the sense of timelessness or one feels disoriented, confused, and eager to escape its labyrinthine passageways. I fall into the former category. History. Art. Architecture. The provocative and creative marriage of Byzantine, Rococo and Moorish forms. Maze-like streets that seem to turn inward upon themselves. Water, water, everywhere. And overriding all a pervading sense of mystery. This is a city of endless secrets. For me, a romantic at heart, what is there not to love?

A Magnificent Obsession

   Sigh...the long awaited debut of Season 2 of Masterpiece Theatre's famed Downton Abbey has finally arrived. So these days I am living Sunday to Sunday as I immerse myself once again in this fascinating commentary on life in England just before and during the onset of the Great World War. History buffs will find themselves just as fascinated as those who enjoy the counterplay and commentary on the outmoded caste system of class that once dominated British life. And what's not to love about the changing fashions and the glorious sets which give us all a glimpse into what is sure to seem a fantasy world. Here's to Downton Abbey. If you have not yet made its acquaintance, I urge you to do so! Warning: it could be hazardous to your Sunday evenings and your Monday mornings and all of your daydreams, musings and random ponderings throughout the week! And while you decide, here are some lovelies upon which you may feast your eyes...my, my, that sounds terribly British, does it not?!

The cast, the house and the Golden Globe!

Dame Maggie Smith steals every scene in which she appears...even when all she does is raise an eyebrow!

A veritable masterpiece of fashion design!

Looks just like one of my intimate dinner parties at home...

Nobody does a uniform better than the British...don't you agree?!

Fashion forward Lady Sybil bares the ankle in her harem...gasp...pants!